During and after the COVID-19 era, change will be the key to our survival. Perhaps the biggest change in society we will see is not from a reactionary global economic decline, but an acceleration of changes brought on by social distancing. Even now, attitudes to working from home, business continuity, and service delivery are setting new standards for how we will interact post- COVID-19, and technology seems to be at the centre of it all.

Donors identify a wide range of social problems as most important for our future:

Developing treatment or cures for a disease; Hunger and access to nutritious food; Access to basic health services; Protecting and preserving the environment; Access to quality basic education; Access to clean water and sanitation; Violence and conflict; Access to shelter and affordable housing; Economic development and growth; Access and opportunities in higher education; Preservation and advancement of arts and culture; Expanding opportunities for women and girls; and Access to opportunity for racial and cultural minorities:

In our Post COVID-19 world, how will charities engage technology to leverage their expertise, and engage the aspirational dreams of the people they serve, as well as donors in addressing the complex needs of those most at risk in society?

Transparency and technology empower donor giving:

Salesforce’s Nonprofit Trends Report states that 41 per cent of nonprofits are scaling their technology and infrastructure to meet the growing needs of their constituents. Indeed, more than 60 per cent of nonprofits do not have an integrated omni-channel response to fundraising where digital, marketing, communications, events, direct marketing, and major gifts operate on a shared platform with a diversity of people skills.

Charities face a new landscape where accelerated adoption and integration of technology can no longer be a luxury that they delay. It is now an immediate necessity. A digital-first strategy seems more common-sense than nice-to-have.

One benefit of an omni-channel digital-first strategy is the emergence of a culture of team collaboration in gathering, using and sharing critical information. The second benefit of a digital first approach is linked to how technology will bridge the important intersection between fundraising and public trust. Donor trust and loyalty depends on effective communication. By integrating communication technology such as webinars, video messaging, and texts, charities could once and for all eliminate one of the biggest barriers to giving - transparency.

At AgentsC, there are five technological considerations that we see forming the core of charities' omni-channel digital-first fundraising strategy, post-COVID-19. These are not necessarily new platforms; indeed, we argue for an increase in the use of technology that is already at our disposal to increasingly permeate traditional analogue-based fundraising in charities:

Using existing digital tools:

A new reality

1. An Augmented Reality: Augmented reality, where virtual elements are integrated into real life, has successfully been used by a host of organisations including the NHS in the UK to seek blood donors. It can be adapted to attract the participation of major donors to a variety of activities, including site visits, donor walls, and even to connect with field workers across the globe, and almost all situations we can imagine.

2. A.I. Revolution: Artificial Intelligence gives a new window into understanding philanthropic potential. Whether it’s in the use search for hidden donor potential, the creation of donor personas to better understand motivations for giving, predictive modelling for donor potential, or planning your next bequest/estate gift, A.I. will increasingly provide scientific support for rapid growth in revenue in the future.

Inclusion transforming philanthropy

3. Virtual Donor Engagement: The Covid -19 pandemic recently caused Camp Oochigeas’ Sporting Life 10K event to be adapted from one big race to individualised runs in participants’ own communities. There are obvious savings on venue hire and licence fees to making events virtual, as well, the potential to be more inclusive by reaching large numbers of diverse participants from a range of online communities. Incorporation of the applications that allow donors to participate in virtual social spaces and among their peers could offer the next best thing to being there in person.

Better Monitoring and Use of Big Data

4. Constant Donor Cultivation: We are now used to the constant flow of news and information about the spread of COVID-19. In keeping with this emerging custom, charities’ Facebook Live feeds and Twitter accounts can be utilised to produce hour by hour seamless updates about key decisions made within the organisation, to track how projects and programs are evolving, or even provide real-time information flows about how donations are being put to use to support the lives of stakeholders. Such methodologies may yet replace the traditional quarterly newsletter while also leveraging insight and access to information that tells us about donors’ online networks, thoughts, opinions, likes, and actions.

5. Digital Meeting spaces: Conference meeting apps and platforms are here to stay: Zoom, VidyoCloud, GoToMeeting, and a plethora of other platforms have been designed to keep people all around us and across the world from spending money on travel. Virtual meetings will be prioritised over local, domestic and international travel, vastly reducing travel expense, time, and our carbon footprint.

Imagine a world where recorded webinars replace dense annual reports, or where data from digital connectivity drives decision-making. This is the essence of a digital-first strategy. Omni-channels simply occur when we combine that technology with the best minds in our teams.

Digital connectivity makes it easier for charities to amass important data on donor behaviour, attitudes, giving history and interests. These provide the basis for organisationally specific research that can better inform effective fundraising strategies. Such an approach removes the guesswork and the random nature of some fundraising practices to far better effect than traditional methodologies.

The Girl Scouts of America found this to be true when they optimised their Salesforce database to digitise the supply chain of cookie sales. In making this leap, the organisation demonstrated that it was perfectly feasible to use databases not just to capture donation data but to also expand product sales. If an openness to technology and the right people and skills are available, even the seemingly impossible may be achieved.

Crowd-Funding will continue to play a robust role in social change:

Donors are adopting new definitions of giving, while being more determined than ever to drive social change as part of an online community. The role and importance of charitable giving will not diminish. Individual giving is part of our society’s fabric. However, COVID-19 is yet another indicator that crowd-funding is seen by many as a viable alternative to formalised charitable donations.

There's an important consideration of how an omni-channel approach to donor engagement can embrace crowd funding. This is especially important as a new formula for cultivating donations among communities of colour.

Integrating Change Strategies:

At AgentsC we’re keen to support charities in building and implementing integrated change strategies towards transformational fundraising. Tell us how you and your charity are embracing change during COVID-19. Click below for our anonymous survey:

COVID-19's Impact on Non-Profit Organizations - English

COVID-19's Impact on Non-Profit Organizations - French

References:

Fundraising Around The World, More Strategic, 2019

Plethora of Platforms

Creating a Digital First Strategy

Black Toronto Community Support